Hogwarts Express Details Revealed !!

Dementors, Hagrid, Buckbeak, Sirius Black, The Knights Bus. What do these all have in common?  The are all part of the magical world of Harry Potter yes....but what makes them so exciting is that you will be seeing them all again, and very soon!!

Universal Orlando revealed earlier this week some new details about the journey guests will take when they board the Hogwarts Express this summer in London and travel with other first time muggles to the village of Hogsmead and the castle of Hogwarts.

Here is what we know so far with some press release photos and some I took recently in the park:

Guests will get a chance to board the Hogwarts Express on platform 9 3/4 at London's Kings Cross station. Universals creative team has stated that you will see people transition form London to The Wizarding World right before your very eyes, and that is only where the magic begins.

King's Cross as of March 12th 2014

Once on board "Muggles" will be ushered to private booths which they will find have been outfitted with the same fabric seats, lights, and windows, as found in the Potter movies.  The trains will hold 200 guests and the entire ride experience is billed as family friendly, well, as family friendly as a Dementor can be. The journey will take about 7 minuets and along the way riders will encounter different characters and events from the Harry Potter novels. The windows will actually be high definition video monitors that are using technology never before seen in a theme park environment. They will not be 3-D so no need for pesky glasses, but we can be assured that it will be amazing.

Weasley on a broom

Hagrid wishes us safe journeys

Buckbeak is majestic flying over the Black Lake

Once the train reaches the Hogsmead station guests will disembark and travel down a winding forest path to the village itself.  Construction is in full swing and you can already see some of the station details.

Hogsmeade Station March 2014

Hogsmeade Station March 2014

Universal is again going to be the ticket to have this summer in the Orlando area. Please allow me to make a correction: Universal is the ticket to have now and for the foreseeable future in the Orlando area. The opening of London and Diagon Alley combined with the  Hogwarts Express train journey to Hogsmead, will be the experience to have on vacation this year.  

I will post more as soon as the info becomes available. Please feel free to ask any questions or place your comments, we love hearing from you guys! 

Enjoy!!